Apple Sends March 9 Apple Watch Media Event Invitations

Early Thursday morning, February 26, Apple sent selected media outlets an invitation to a March 9 event. The event will be held in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, a common location for Apple’s large scale announcements. With the simple tagline “Spring Forward” and close proximity to April, Apple is most certainly going to finalize information for the upcoming Apple Watch.

In a Q1 earnings call earlier this month, Tim Cook announced that April is the intended launch month for Apple Watch, holding true to the promise of a release in “Early 2015.” As predicted in our on previous Apple Watch posts, Apple decided to host another event to shore up the currently unknown details of the new flagship wearable device.

Questions still remain about the Apple Watch, which was merely teased in a 30 minute presentation in fall 2014. Known technologies include: the ability to ‘press’ instead of ‘tap’ the screen to evoke contextual menus; receive directional navigation; use a haptic engine to send a vibration to other users; respond quickly to messages and voice calls; receive quick glances at general information, such as daily activity, weather and messages; pulse monitoring; and distance traveled.

While some information was given about the device’s new technologies, speculation was left for the blogging community who asked bigger questions than those covered in the initial media event and have many would-be purchasers holding their breath. For example, battery life is the most critical unknown factor. In a interview, Tim Cook’s comment vaguely and cleverly claimed that people will want to use it so much, that the device will require daily charging. Battery life also calls charging capacity into question. How long will it take to charge?

Water proofing is currently up for debate as well, and Apple has not been clear about dive measurements. Current assumptions indicated the device will be water resistant, safe for hand washing and sweat, but would not be recommended for the shower and certainly not for swimming laps or diving.

More resolved than in question is GPS tracking. Apple made it clear: Apple Watch will be a workout companion, including running and cycling. However, it is slowly becoming obvious that the Apple Watch may not be able to perform distance or GPS course tracking without the partnership of an iPhone. Woe to those who purchased an iPhone 6 Plus or must drag around an iPad mini just to get their run plotted.

Apple Watch details are not the only thing expected to be covered at the March 9 media event. There are also increasing rumors about the MacBook Air finally receiving a Retina screen. It is the only Apple device on the market, including the Apple Watch, without a crystal clear image, other than the Thunderbolt display. Speculation pegs a new 12″ version that may only have one or two connection ports. To a lesser extent, iPad “Pro” rumors are slightly dampened, although alleged casing leaks point to a potential 12″ model.

Either way, the only certainty will be Apple Watch discussions. After all, “Spring Forward” will happen during the end of Daylight Savings Time, which is absolutely time related, and happens to be the day prior to the event!